USPTO Patents Application 09960008

IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

Applicants: Linda Morales et al.

§ Art Unit: 2616
§

§ Conf. No.: 4221
§

§ Examiner: Warner Wong

§

§ Atty. Dkt. No.: ERC.0003US

§ (13837RRUS02U)

§

Serial No.:

09/960,008

Filed:

September 21, 2001

For:

Method and Apparatus to
Control Handoff Between
Different Wireless Systems

Mail Stop Amendment

Commissioner for Patents

P.O. Box 1450

Alexandria, VA 22313-1450

SUMMARY OF TELEPHONIC INTERVIEW

Sir:

On May 28, 2010, Examiner Warner Wong called the undersigned to propose the
following amendments of the claims to place the application in condition for allowance:
incorporate dependent claims 30, 31, and 32 into respective base claims. The Examiner
also proposed that the word "non-transitory" be added to article claim 24. On June 1,
2010, the undersigned sent an Unofficial Amendment incorporating the proposed
amendments into independent claims 1, 16, and 24 to Examiner Wong. On June 7, 2010,
Examiner Wong called the undersigned to propose that the following language be added
to claims 16 and 24: "responsive to determining that handoff is required." On June 14,
2010, the undersigned sent Examiner Wong another Unofficial Amendment with the
further amendments (attached).

Agreement was reached that these amendments would be entered by Examiner' s
Amendment to allow the case.

Respectfully submitted,

Date: June 16, 2010

/Dan C. Hu/

Dan C. Hu

Registration No. 40,025
TROP, PRUNER & HU, P.C.
1616 South Voss Road, Suite 750
Houston, TX 77057-2631
Telephone: (713) 468-8880
Facsimile: (713) 468-8883

IN THE UNITED STATES I

Applicants: Linda Morales et al.

Serial No.: 09/960,008

Filed: September 21 , 2001

For: Method and Apparatus to

Control Handoff Between
Different Wireless Systems

NT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

§ Art Unit: 2616
§

§ Conf. No.: 4221
§

§ Examiner: Warner Wong

§

§ Atty. Dkt. No.: ERC.0003US

§ (13837RRUS02U)

§

Mail Stop Amendment

Commissioner for Patents
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450

UNOFFICIAL AMENDMENT

Dear Sir:

Listing of the Claims begins on page 2 of this paper.

Remarks/Arguments begin on page 8 of this paper.

Appln. Serial No. 09/960,008
Unofficial Amendment

LISTING OF THE CLAIMS
This listing of claims replaces all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application:

1 1. (Currently Amended) A method of performing wireless communications,

2 comprising:

3 communicating bearer traffic for a packet-switched communications session

4 between a mobile station and a first base station associated with a first type of wireless system;

5 determining if handoff is required from the first base station to a second base

6 station associated with a second, different type of wireless system; and

7 in response to determining that the handoff is required, sending a message from

8 the first base station to the second base station over an interface between the first base station

9 and second base station, the message indicating to the second base station that handoff is

10 required , wherein sending the message comprises sending the message over a link that directly

11 connects the first base station and second base station .

1 2. (Cancelled)

1 3. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the first base station comprises an IS -

2 2000 base station, and wherein communicating the bearer traffic comprises communicating the

3 bearer traffic between the mobile station and the IS-2000 base station.

1 4. (Original) The method of claim 3, wherein determining if handoff is required

2 from the first base station to the second base station comprises determining if handoff is required

3 from the IS-2000 base station to a lxEV access network.

1 5.-7. (Cancelled)

1 8. (Original) The method of claim 1, wherein the first base station comprises a

2 lxEV access network, and wherein communicating the bearer traffic comprises communicating

3 the bearer traffic between the mobile station and the lxEV access network.

2

Appln. Serial No. 09/960,008
Unofficial Amendment

1 9. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 8, wherein determining if handoff is

2 required from the first base station to the second base station comprises determining if handoff is

3 required from the lxEV access network to a lxRTT base station.

1 10. -11. (Cancelled)

1 12. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 1, further comprising sending

2 another message from the second base station to the first base station to initiate a handoff

3 procedure.

1 13. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 12, further comprising sending a

2 further message from the first base station to the second base station to indicate that the mobile

3 station has been directed to hand off to the second base station.

1 14. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message

2 comprises sending the message over a link between the first base station and the second base

3 station.

1 15. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a

2 hard handoff between the first base station and the second base station.

1 16. (Currently Amended) A first base station system that performs wireless

2 communications with a mobile station according to a first protocol, the first base station system

3 comprising:

4 an interface to a second base station system that performs wireless

5 communications with the mobile station according to a second, different protocol; and

6 a controller to communicate bearer traffic for a packet- switched communications

7 session with the mobile station,

8 the controlle r, responsive to determining that handoff is required, to further

9 exchange messaging with the second base station system through the interface to perform
10 [[a]]the handoff of the packet-switched communications session from the first base station

3

Appln. Serial No. 09/960,008
Unofficial Amendment

1 1 system to the second base station syste m, wherein the interface allows the messaging to be sent

12 from the first base station system directly to the second base station system .

1 17. (Previously Presented) The first base station system of claim 16, wherein the

2 controller is to perform the handoff by performing a hard handoff.

1 18. (Previously Presented) The first base station system of claim 16, wherein the

2 controller is to communicate bearer traffic according to a lxRTT format with the mobile station.

1 19. (Cancelled)

1 20. (Previously Presented) The first base station system of claim 18, wherein the

2 second base station system comprises a lxEV base station, and wherein the controller is to

3 exchange the messaging with the lxEV base station.

1 21. (Previously Presented) The first base station system of claim 16, wherein the

2 controller is to exchange the messaging by sending a message indicating that a handoff is

3 required to the second base station system through the interface.

1 22. (Previously Presented) The first base station system of claim 21, wherein the

2 controller is to exchange the messaging by receiving a message initiating the handoff procedure.

1 23. (Previously Presented) The first base station system of claim 22, wherein the

2 controller is to send a further message from the first base station system to the second base

3 station system to indicate that the mobile station has been directed to hand off to the second base

4 station system.

4

Appln. Serial No. 09/960,008
Unofficial Amendment

1 24. (Currently Amended) An article comprising at least one non-transitory machine-

2 readable storage medium containing instructions that when executed cause a first base station

3 system to:

4 exchange signaling according to a first protocol with a mobile station to establish

5 a packet-switched communications session between the mobile station and another endpoint;

6 determine if a handoff is required to a second base station system that performs

7 wireless communications with the mobile station according to a second, different protocol; and

8 responsive to determining that the handoff is required, exchange messaging with

9 the second base station system through a link between the first and second base station systems

10 to perform the handof f, wherein exchanging the messaging with the second base station through

11 the link comprises exchanging the messaging with the second base station through the link that

12 directly connects the first base station system to the second base station system .

1 25. (Previously Presented) The article of claim 24, wherein the first base station

2 comprises a lxRTT base station, and wherein the instructions when executed cause the first base

3 station system to exchange lxRTT signaling with the mobile station.

1 26. (Previously Presented) The article of claim 25, wherein the instructions when

2 executed cause the first base station system to determine if handoff is required by determining if

3 handoff is required from the lxRTT base station to one of a lxEV access network and a High

4 Data Rate (HDR) access network.

1 27. (Original) The article of claim 24, wherein the first base station comprises one of

2 a High Data Rate (HDR) access network and a lxEV access network, and wherein the

3 instructions when executed cause the first base station system to exchange one of High Data Rate

4 (HDR) signaling and lxEV signaling with the mobile station.

1 28. (Previously Presented) The article of claim 27, wherein the instructions when

2 executed cause the first base station system to determine if handoff is required by determining if

3 handoff is required from the one of the High Data Rate (HDR) access network and lxEV access

4 network to a lxRTT base station.

5

Appln. Serial No. 09/960,008
Unofficial Amendment

1 29. (Previously Presented) The article of claim 24, wherein the instructions when

2 executed cause the first base station system to exchange the messaging by sending a message to

3 the second base station system indicating that a handoff is required.

1 30.-32. (Cancelled)

1 33. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile station

2 comprises a hybrid mobile station that is able to support at least two different wireless

3 communications protocols including a first wireless communications protocol and a second

4 wireless communications protocol,

5 wherein determining if the handoff is required from the first base station to the

6 second base station comprises determining if the handoff is required from the first base station

7 that communicates with the hybrid mobile station according to the first wireless communications

8 protocol, to the second base station that communicates with the hybrid mobile station according

9 to the second wireless communications protocol.

1 34. (Previously Presented) The method of claim 33, wherein the first wireless

2 communications protocol comprises a lxEV protocol, and the second wireless communications

3 protocol comprises a lxRTT protocol.

1 35. (Previously Presented) The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the mobile station

2 comprises a hybrid mobile station that is able to perform wireless communications according to

3 both the first and second protocols, the controller to communicate the bearer traffic with the

4 hybrid mobile station.

1 36. (Previously Presented) The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the first protocol

2 comprises a lxEV protocol, and the second protocol comprises a lxRTT protocol.

6

Appln. Serial No. 09/960,008
Unofficial Amendment

1 37. (Previously Presented) The article of claim 24, wherein exchanging the signaling

2 with the mobile station comprises exchanging the signaling with a hybrid mobile station that is

3 able to perform wireless communications according to both the first and second protocols.

1 38. (Previously Presented) The article of claim 37, wherein the first protocol

2 comprises a lxEV protocol, and the second protocol comprises a lxRTT protocol.

7

Appln. Serial No. 09/960,008
Unofficial Amendment

As discussed.

Date:

8

Respectfully submitted,

//

Dan C. Hu

Registration No. 40,025
TROP, PRUNER & HU, P.C.
1616 South Voss Road, Suite 750
Houston, TX 77057-2631
Telephone: (713) 468-8880
Facsimile: (713) 468-8883